On the third full day of deliberations in Jordan Miles' civil suit against three Pittsburgh Police officers, the jury was ushered back into the courtroom. Judge Gary L. Lancaster addressed the group, which is having trouble reaching a unanimous decision.
Lancaster ordered the jury to go back into deliberations and said if they couldn't reach a unanimous decision the case would be left open and decided at another time. He added the trial and jury selection process wouldn't change.
He told the group of three women and five men to each decide for themselves where the truth lies, but advised them to also be open to the opinions of fellow jurors. Lancaster said the jurors should not back down on their convictions and beliefs, but to listen with an open mind to fellow jurors, and change their minds if they think they're wrong. He told them to take the time necessary and to follow all instructions he gave them on the first day of deliberations and today.
Jordan Miles is accusing three Pittsburgh Police officers of violating his civil rights on the night of January 12, 2010. That night he sustained numerous injuries he says were inflicted by excessive force by the officers who never identified themselves. The young man was walking to his grandmother's house in Homewood, where he slept, when he was approached by the plain-clothes officers in an un-marked car.
The officers have said they had reason to detain Miles, because they suspected him of prowling in a high-crime neighborhood. They also maintain the extent of his injuries came from him falling on the sidewalk and being tackled into some bushes.
